I've said it a few times this week but it was one of the most incredible games of football I've ever seen, particularly the second half which was more akin to a game of PES or FIFA rather than a real life football match. I thought it would be a long time until I watched something quite as remarkable but Europe then produced something spectacular the following night in the Ryder Cup! If we can tighten things up at the back but continue in the same vein up front there's no reason we can't come away with a victory to make it two in a row in the league and three on the spin in all competitions.
Our recent record in Perth isn't too bad. We won there twice last year and also managed a goalless draw there the season before. Our record before that wasn't particularly great but hopefully things are on the upturn for us at McDiarmid Park. We could really do with a win before we head into the international break and St Johnstone are another of the sides we have to be looking to beat if we are to stand a decent chance of making the top six. Not only is it a winnable game, it would also take some points off one of our rivals for a coveted slot in the top half after the split.
Battles of the Saints are relatively well mannered these days. I can still remember a friendly - yes, a friendly - where each side had two men sent off, while St Johnstone went one better a few years later and got three of their players red carded. There was little danger of anything like that last time we met as we were pretty poor and the Saintees romped to a 3-0 win in Paisley. Back then they had a couple of decent strikers in Francisco Zandaza and Cillian Sheridan who have now left, but as I'll come on to later they've more than made up for them - in terms of quantity and quality.
What to change after last week? It's obvious Kenny McLean has to start. He was excellent after coming on as a sub, scoring a brilliant goal as we extended our lead. Whether he was on the bench because of injury or because he was dropped is now irrelevant as putting him there obviously had the desired effect on his performance when he came on. Should fellow sub Sam Parkin also start? The big man was like a man possessed when he was introduced and scored a terrific header, but my fear is when we play him and Steven Thompson together we are quite one dimensional - and Thompson isn't going to be dropped after last week.
So who makes way? Jon Robertson will almost certainly be back on the bench after a rare start and he could be joined by Lewis Guy if Parkin gets the nod. One man who won't be involved in any shape or form is Paul McGowan. It was revealed earlier in the week he has a shoulder injury so it'll be some time before we see him again as he keeps Grant Adam and Darren McGregor company in the stands for the next few months. It's a huge blow for both the player and the club.
A few weeks ago you could probably have got short odds on Steve Lomas being the first SPL managerial casualty of the season as St Johnstone had not had the best of starts, with only two points from their opening six matches. However, he's just picked up the SPL's manager of the month award which suggests things are going in the right direction. HThe Saintees recorded a tremendous win over Celtic before ending Ross County's long unbeaten run so things are looking a lot brighter at McDiarmid Park, especially after last week's win over local rivals Dundee. Their jaunt into Europe ended early, but then it did for just about every other Scottish club this season, and the aim will to be back there next year after their top six finish last season.
Lomas is another manager who spent the summer moaning about the Rangers situation affecting his budget and stopping him from signing players. However, that didn't seem to prevent him signing pretty much every striker going as he looked to replace Cillian Sheridan and Francisco Sandaza. At first he'd look like he'd settle for bringing in Gregory Tade and pinching Nigel Hasselbaink from us - the Dutchman having rejected the offer of a new contract because it wasn't lucrative enough. It was a strikeforce fraught with danger as the pair are fantastic on their day but it rarely comes along. So in a bid to make allowances for that Lomas brought in no fewer than three more forwards who could comfortably do a job for most other SPL clubs. Craig Beattie was fantastic for Hearts last season and it's a surprise no one else signed him, while Rowan Vine has so far managed more red cards than goals. Steve MacLean, who had a productive spell on loan at Aberdeen a few years back, has also come in but is out with a dislocated elbow, which sounds rather painful.
We don't just need to worry about the forwards as plenty of the Saintees midfielders can also cause us problems. Liam Craig got on the scoresheet in Love Street's last ever Scottish Cup tie when we failed to turn up and lost 3-1, while Chris Millar and Murray Davidson have also scored against us in the past. Davidson seemed to have a burst of goals when he signed for the Perth club after their promotion back in 2009 but isn't quite as prolific any more. However, he's still an extremely good player, Rangers making a laughably low offer for him before they imploded last season. The midfield numbers have been boosted over the summer by bringing in Ross County's Gary Miller and taking Peter Pawlett on loan from Aberdeen. He's had some good press in the past but hasn't quite developed as expected so the loan spell may do him some good. Lomas also signed Paddy Cregg, who wasn't particularly good for us a few years ago but seems to have started well enough.
Annoyingly, St Johnstone also have a goal threat at the back in the shape of Dave Mackay. He scored a winner for them at Parkhead last season and loves getting up and down the right flank, usually providing a decent end product as well. Callum Davidson returned to the club last season following his stint down south while in Steven Anderson and Frazer Wright they have a decent defensive partnership that is a also threat at set pieces. With Peter Enckelman now gone Alan Mannus has now stepped up, with Jonny Tuffey coming in as back-up. He was highly rated at Partick Thistle but didn't play much for Inverness Caley Thistle and needs some games to kick start his career.
NOTE: It will probably be Sunday at the earliest before any details of the game are on the site. Not ideal but lightning fast considering what will be happening next week, as I shall reveal on Monday!
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